***Kat"The men seem kind of distracted to you?""When are they not distracted? If you ask me, it works perfectly with what we have to do.""I'm not sure Ginger-Lee; it seems a bit risky right now, don't you think?""What's risky, Illyana? Look, now is the perfect time. Look, who's not pregnant among us has just given birth, what exactly are you afraid they'll do to us?""She's got a point, and besides, I told you, your dad is throwing his hat in the ring to run for president. If we don't do this now, it might be another four or eight years before you get the chance again. Do you really want to wait that long?" Illyana looked down at her baby girl and kissed her curly hair."No, I really don't, I'd like him to meet her. I didn't have him in my life; I'm not even sure he'd want me, want us, but…"My heart was breaking for her. It seems every time we get close to a solution where her dad was concerned, something else cropped up. This latest pebble might be the biggest obstacle we've fac
I sat with my back to the wall in the corner of the little twenty-four-hour café I'd found to kill time in for the night. I'd already cased the place inside and out, but it's going to be a long time before I ever feel comfortable out in the open like this, if ever. All around me, people were going about their regular lives.One couple was quietly arguing at the table a few rows from me; there was a homeless guy at the counter begging for leftovers or anything that will be tossed in another hour or so. It's the reason I picked this place. After being on the streets for a while, I'd learned how to find places like this, places that were friendly to people who were down on their luck.My reasons for this were twofold. On the one hand, the everyday workers thought they were doing a kindness to those who were less fortunate. What they didn't know is that most of their bosses exploit that kindness for their own sick needs—preying on the vulnerable who had no hope of ever escaping their s
"Glad you two could make it, come on in." I waited for Flanagan and his wife to get settled in their seats after greeting the others. I could tell from the way Lyon was sizing her up that he was seeing the guy pinned to the wall by the arrow. We still had no concrete evidence that it had been her kill, but I'd put bank on it.She's really good at what she is and has never left anything behind. But because the organization has had eyes on her for quite some time, it wasn't hard to put two and two together. I wasn't as worried about that as I was her husband and the lengths he's been known to go to-to protect her.Only a few players were missing now that they were here since I'd already clued in the kids from Cali. It wasn't time to bring them all in yet, but soon I'll have to make the circle complete. Other than Lyon and maybe Arianna, there was one loose cannon left in the bunch that had yet to be brought in. He shouldn't be a problem since he already knew the score and has been
Whoa, too intense for me, time to go check on my family and get the hell out of dodge. Geez, you could cut the tension in that room with a knife. As usual, when things got sticky, and my family was anywhere around, I always made sure they were safe no matter what safety measures were in place.I saw my nieces and nephews running around outside, and the men and women Mancini had there to watch over them. Though there was no way for anyone to approach the island without being seen and the water was a good ways away from the house, there was no guarantee that one of the million kids they had running around here wouldn't head that way.I went in search of my sister and found her in a roomful of women. The whole place went quietly still as soon as I walked in, and I wished I'd have looked in before stepping in there. I swallowed hard and tried to backtrack, but it was too late. There were about four or five pregnant women in there, and maybe that's why the air was so rife with hormones.
It wasn't hard to find the pattern after a while. Though Mancini hadn't given us anything more than the bare bones, what little he did give us was enough to build on. This wasn't going anything like I'd expected. Instead of having me do any of the legwork technically speaking, Track took point on that and sent me the patterns as they unfolded on his end."Are you getting the picture yet?" I nodded my head as I read over everything he'd laid out and sent back to me. "Lawyers, judges, social workers, cops.""Do you notice the one thing they all have in common?""Yeah, they all work out of the same district court."I could feel the blood humming in my veins the way it does when I'm on the hunt, though I knew we had a long way to go. Usually, with my cases, I know the perpetrator and go after him or her after weeks sometimes months of the guys collecting data. Since I'm going after the person who pretty much is doing my job, it's like working backward.I got the feeling halfway t
Just as I started to put it away, there was a shadow in the doorway. I looked up to see Mancini standing there. I didn't even hear him approach. "How did it go, kid?" I'm pretty sure he's not that much older than I am, but okay. He does have me beat with experience alone."It went fine. I guess I can see why you put us together.""He eliminates a lot of the guesswork, doesn't he?" He walked into the room, and I looked at him, really looked at him. He looked tired like he'd gone a few rounds up there, which I can only imagine he did. Things had been getting really sticky when I left. I wanted to ask about all that but knew Gideon would tell me later."Did you just come to see where I'm at?" I got the feeling he had something to say that had nothing to do with this, and I started to get that itch between my shoulder blades. Then the way he just looked at me as if trying to find the right words only exacerbated that feeling."No, I wanted to talk to you about your dad." That quick
As soon as Mancini left the room, I looked for a quiet corner to get two minutes downtime. No one has mentioned anything about the stuff we'd learned here today; I guess the boys were still processing the fact that their lives have been changed in a second. I sat with my eyes closed, and my mind going to blank. I'm not thinking about the sh*t Mancini dropped in my lap, not right now, too much to take in at once.The others were still looking into the new case Mancini had mentioned as a distraction, but I'm sure they all pretty much know what the hell is going on there. From the little bit, Mancini had all you have to do is follow the breadcrumbs, which is what I guess he has those two kids doing. As to what the hell was going on there, that too is very obvious. Someone was avenging some sh*t that these nasty f*cks had done to either them or a loved one in the past.I'll just wait for the kids to find out who where and when to get involved. If this person, whoever it is, is just kil
I made myself comfortable while he took his shower, sitting in a chair in the corner of the dark room where I'd turned off the lights. I saw his silhouette when he came out of the shower and reached for the light on the wall. Before he could hit the switch, I threw my blade and pinned his hand there.His howl of pain was cut off when he saw me stand and walk towards him. Coward, I could already smell the sh*t he'd expelled from his bowels in fear. No doubt he was thinking of his partners in crime and how they'd died just here recently. Why hadn't he protected himself better? Was it because he's a highly decorated cop? Is that why he thought he was invincible?I got up close to him as he was trying to remove the stiletto from his wrist, which wasn't easy since I'd made sure to hit bone. The pain has to be excruciating. He started to whimper at my approach. "Who are you? What do you want?" He tried moving out of the way when I got within a few feet of him, but there was nowhere to go
Why do I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop in this place? I feel like I've fallen down the rabbit hole, but I've never done drugs, not willingly at least, and not since the ones that had been foisted on me to keep me in line came to an end with my escape. Yet, it feels like I've lived ten lifetimes in the few days I've been here.I'm warily cautious of accepting both Jason and the doctor's words that I'm pregnant, but he seems so sure. Even the way he touched me just now was different, so there's no doubt that he believes his own words. I don't feel any different, obviously, since we'd only just started having sex, and as far as I know, it would be way too early to tell. But if I add up all the strange things that have transpired in the last few days, I guess this would fit right in."How are you feeling?" Mr. Lyon drew my attention from watching Jason's retreating back."I'm fine; why does everyone keep asking me that?""The longer you're here, the more you'll come to re
Roxana was grumpy and fretful after the doctor left, and I knew most of it was due to the fact that I'd kept her up all night and into the early morning, plus the added excitement of the last few hours. Still, I had to fight her to stay in bed, which she did only after I manhandled her stubborn ass into compliance. I learned a neat new trick in the meantime and feel no shame in using that sh*t to my advantage going forward.It seems like as much as she wants to deny both mine and the doctor's assumption that she's pregnant, the mere possibility has put her in a bind. The very mention of her needing to rest because of her condition, something I have no idea about, to be honest, was enough to make her settle down and do as she's told.Since it was my first time seeing an obedient Roxana, I'm not yet a hundred percent sure that it wasn't a fluke, but I can't wait to test it out. Now I find myself looking back at her every few minutes from my place at the desk where I was once again go
I looked up at the wall where he'd hung my family crest along with the others, still not used to the idea that some ancestor of mine was a sellout who'd saved some asshole king that was probably not worth it. I'd threatened my kids with death if they spread this sh*t , but I know it won't last. It's only a matter of time before I have to deal with their mother and her sh*t ."Turn it off, Lyon." I hit the off switch, and we were treated to the women's laughter as they congratulated themselves on getting one over on us again. Then they started their sh*t again."Where did you say this person is? What prison?""California City Correctional, why?""No reason! As you said, you're a FED, not much you can do. Why are we talking about this anyway? I thought we were discussing Roxy's thing." Flanagan got restless in his seat as his wife's words came through the speaker."What is it?" I asked, but he just gritted his teeth and shook his head."She's up to something; she changed the
"Kat, that was a very impressive sigh; what's up?""Nothing much; I'm just wondering where I can get a pregnancy test on this island.""Why don't you have one of the million doctors they have running around here take a look?""Have you met my husband, Cierra? He'd have to vet that poor person for a week before he'd let that happen. Besides, that's not why I'm sighing. I'm almost certain that I am anyway I don't need confirmation.""Then why the sigh?""I just realized that since we got married, I'm either always pregnant or has just given birth.""So? I thought you loved having kids." "It's not that; I do love having babies, it's just… it's been a while since I've had a good spanking." There was a lot of hooting and hollering followed by a chorus of agreement from the other women, and that's when I turned the screen off. "For f*ck sake!" The other men in the room started laughing their idiot heads off like they hadn't heard their women jumping on the bandwagon with my
"Geez, I need to sit down." I did, but I didn't, so I watched for a little while longer until the two of them headed in the direction of the stables. It was almost half an hour later when I intercepted Catalina on her way to the lab. "Hey, kiddo, how's it going?""Uncle Hank." She ran over and wrapped her arms around my thighs."Hi uncle Hank, did the plane leave yet?""He's almost ready, I wanted to talk to you about that, but there's something else I wanted to talk to you about first. Catalina, those words you gave the senator, where did you hear that song?""Grandpa always listens to that stuff when he's doing one of his experiments."What experiments?""With the grow.""You…""Don't worry, uncle Hank; I've never seen grandpa smoking before; he always goes into the other room.""If you haven't seen him, how do you know that that's what he's doing?" She gave me a look that made me feel stupid. "Sorry I asked." I waited a couple beats before carrying on."Catalina
In the room around me, the men were going over plans for the next few days. Lyon was adamant that he would have the information out of Roxana by then, and I'd already got the specs on the place on the Hudson so that we could synchronize a hit.It hadn't been hard because the idiots, either to be funny or in a show of arrogance, had chosen to use a place that had been used for the same vice in history. The house, or rather mansion, was on the historical society list, which meant getting the blueprints and other pertinent information had been a breeze.It's also a known fact that a lot of these homes that were built by the wealthy during a certain time period in the country's history had a lot of hidden pockets that didn't show up on paper. I have the historical research team working on that as we speak. Since this place is so close to the water, I wouldn't be surprised if there was an underground network of some kind running from the mansion to the river.Since the SEALs had run i
When she covered her tummy with her hand, I covered hers with mine, and we both held the place where I was sure my seed had taken root inside her. "Jason?" I don't think I've ever heard her voice sound so thin and afraid. I wasn't expecting fear. Anger sure, annoyance, any of those things I could've dealt with, but the sound of fear in my otherwise fearless beauty was almost too much for me to bear."What is it, love?" I had to clear my throat a time or two to remove the frogs."I don't know anything about babies. I wasn't going to stay here. What am I going to do?" I got the feeling that that last was more to herself than me, so I concentrated on the rest of what she said. I imagine that, like me, she was thinking about all that she'd been through and worrying about bringing a child into a world where such things were possible, so I went with that first."We'll learn everything we need to to make sure that the little one is safe and happy. I've helped raise my nieces and nephews
Now all those times I'd seen them with a kid strapped onto their chests since we've been here was starting to make sense. I've seen my brother with his kids, of course, but never knew that there were others like him. Now I see why these rough and tumble men were so soft when it came to their wives and kids.When they're yours, your woman, your blood, it changes everything. I feel such a strong sense of protection already for both of them. "I have to get back to her, but I'm going to need a new workspace; I'm not doing any of this around her after today. Mr. Lyon, sir, whatever you're going to do to get her to give you the information, please do it quickly.""Mister? Sir?" The guy is a real grump, like his dad said earlier. I don't know what came over me. Maybe I was overly excited about the baby, but I'd heard him threaten death and mayhem to anyone who said the next words that came out of my mouth, and it still didn't stop me. "I'm sorry, your highness." The room erupted with laug
No sooner had the word left my lips than the women descended like sharks scenting blood in the water. I didn't think I'd spoken that loud, and where the hell did they come from. "Are you sure, Jason?" My brother asked from behind me, and I nodded. I know it's stupid, and I can't explain it, but I know that she's carrying my seed, which is all it is at this point.There was a fire starting under my palm, a kind of electric buzz running up my arm where we touched. My head spun with emotion, and I felt the connection deep. Like something inside her, my son or daughter, holding me there by her side. I caught her when she faltered, her eyes never leaving mine. "Pregnant?" The word was a mere whisper from her lips, and I nodded, too choked up for words.I picked her up while she was still in a daze and less apt to strike. "Ash!" I looked around for my sister and saw a line of women watching us with smiles on their faces. "You and the others follow me." I haven't the first clue what to d